Southern Cross University

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Professor Stephen P Myers, PhD(N'cle), ND(SSNT), BMed(N'cle).
Stephen Myers is the Foundation Director of NatMed Research, the Natural and
Complementary Medicine Research Unit in the School of Health and Human Sciences at
Southern Cross University. In his previous appointment (2001-2006), Stephen was the
Foundation Director of the Australian Centre for Complementary Medicine Education and
Research (ACCMER), a unique joint venture of University of Queensland (Brisbane,
Queensland) and Southern Cross University (Lismore, New South Wales). From 1996 to 2001,
Stephen was the Foundation Head of the School of Natural and Complementary Medicine at
Southern Cross University, where he still plays an active role. His major contribution to
research in complementary medicine has been to lead the academic development of the field
as a university academic discipline. The School of Natural and Complementary Medicine was
the first academic unit in complementary medicine in an Australian university. He
established a four-year undergraduate degree and a fifth year honours research program in
naturopathic medicine coupled with Masters and Doctoral research programs. Over the past
decade Stephen has worked to aid the establishment of a research culture within the
discipline area of Complementary Medicine. He has supervised 11 completed higher degree
research students (3 MSc and 8 PhD) and 5 first class Honours research students.
Professor Myers initially qualified as a naturopathic practitioner (ND – Southern School
of Natural Therapies) and later in western medicine (BMed – Australian MD equivalent –
University of Newcastle). He has a PhD (University of Newcastle) in basic and clinical
pharmacology having studied the effect of garlic on pharmacologically modifiable
cardiovascular risk factors. Professor Myers has been extensively involved with
complementary medicine education at an undergraduate and postgraduate level in Australia
for the past 25 years. He is actively engaged in research in herbal medicine,
nutraceuticals, therapeutic foods and in public health issues in complementary medicine.
He has acted as consultant to industry, government and educational institutions on a
broad range of issues involving natural medicine. He was co-author of the report “Towards
a Safer Choice” in 1995, which reviewed the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine in
Australia for the Victorian, New South Wales and Queensland state governments and was the
forerunner to the occupational regulation of Chinese Medicine practitioners in Victoria
in 2000. In 2005 he co-authored the report for the Victorian Government on the practice
and regulatory requirements of naturopathy and Western herbal medicine. In 1997 he was
appointed by the Australian Commonwealth Government to the Complementary Medicine
Evaluation Committee (CMEC) which is a statutory expert advisory committee to the
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). In 2003 he was appointed to the Australian
Commonwealth Government’s Expert Committee on Complementary Medicine in the Health System
which reviewed complementary medicines and practices in Australia. In 2004 he was awarded
the prestigious Lady Cilento Award by the Complementary Healthcare Council which is
awarded by the Australian Complementary Medicines industry to individuals who have made a
significant and sustained contribution to the field of complementary medicine over many
years.
Stephen is on the editorial panel of 3 international peer review journals and has written
3 books, 10 book chapters, 60 peer reviewed research papers and 62 papers for the
professional press. He has received over $6 million in external research funding since
1993 for research in complementary medicine.